Control ballast door for hopper cans

ABSTRACT

An improved discharge control door over that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,654,872 is described controlling flow of material from railway hopper cars or other containers holding material. The improved discharge control door includes curved discharge plates allowing better and greater material flow therethrough when in the open position, counterweight means keeping the door in its normally closed position covering the discharge opening and a spring biased friction element bearing against the side walls of the discharge control door which, in the absence of a force other than the material flowing over the discharge plates, keeps the door in a set open position.

United States Patent [191 Fearon CONTROL BALLAST DOOR FOR HOPPER CANS Inventor: Joseph G. Fearon, Boise, Idaho Morrison-Knudsen Company, Inc., Boise, Idaho Filed: Aug. 24, 1973 Appl. No.: 391,499

Assignee:

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1958 Faverty 105/239 UX 6/1961 Flowers 105/248 July 9, 1974 ABSTRACT An improved discharge control door over that described in US. Pat. No. 3,654,872 is described controlling flow of material from railway hopper cars or other containers holding material. The improved discharge control door includes curved discharge plates allowing better and greater material flow therethrough when in the open position, counterweight means keeping the door in its normally closed position covering the discharge opening and a spring biased friction element bearing against the side walls of the discharge control door which, in the absence of a force other than the material flowing over the discharge plates,

' keeps the door in a set open position.

4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PAIENTEB JUL SIHM 1 CONTROL BALLAST DOOR FOR HOPPER CANS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to an improved discharge control door controlling discharge of particulate material from a container therefor.

2. Prior Art Relating to the Disclosure US. Pat. No. 3,654,872 describes a discharge control door fitted onto railway hopper cars for discharging material such as railroad ballast outside of or between the rails of a railway track. The present application is directed to improvements in the discharge control door described in the aforementioned United States patent. These improvements include: (1) optimally designed discharge plates of the discharge control door for better and greater material flow therethrough, (2) an improved friction controlled brake providing for easier and more reliable adjustment of the braking pressure exerted against the discharge control door, (3) means for adjustment of the gap between the slope sheet of the hopper car or container and the discharge control door allowing adjustment for discharge of various size particulate material such as railway ballast, coal, wheat, etc. and (4) counterweight means holding the door in the normally closed position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a railway hopper car of conventional design with the discharge openings thereof fitted with discharge control doors of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the discharge control door;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the discharge control door along section line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view along section line 4-4 of FIG. 2, illustrating the gap adjustment means, the counterweight means and design of the discharge plates; and

FIG. 5 is a partial, exploded, vertical cross-sectional view of the friction brake along section line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Although the discharge control door of this invention is described in detail for use with railway hopper cars, the discharge control door can be fitted onto discharge openings of stationary containers for particulate material or containers carried by other transportation means such as by a truck.

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional railway hopper car having an underframe 12 supporting sets of wheels 14 for the car, the wheels riding on parallel rails 16. The car body includes side walls 18, end walls and sloping walls 22 which extend below the underframe of the car body. Depending from the lower edges of the sloping walls 22 are sloping extensions 24 forming longitudinal openings 26 from the respective hoppers of the hopper car. Generally there are two discharge openings above each rail. Depending from the underframe of the hopper car at each end of each of the discharge openings 26 are pairs of supports 28 which extend below the discharge openings and at right angles thereto. Between each pair of parallel supports is supported a discharge control door 30 pivotally mounted for rotation about a pivot point 32.

FIG. illustrates a sectional view of one of the discharge control doors. The remaining discharge control doors are of the same construction and configuration. Each dircharge control door includes an arcuate top surface plate 34, the surface of which has a radius equal to the distance from pivot point 32 to substantially the lower end of the discharge opening 26. The arcuate surface 34 extends the full length and width of the discharge opening 26 and, in normal position, covers the discharge opening entirely, permitting no discharge of particulate material in the container or hopper.

Opposed curved discharge plates 36 are secured to the underside of the arcuate plate 34. The discharge plates are curved inwardly relative to one another beginning at the point of attachment of the arcuate plate and then curved outwardly relative to one another. This design allows for better flow of particulate material thereover and a wider opening between the plate and the edge of extension 24 when the door is rotated to the open position shown in phantom in FIG. 4. The discharge plates are connected together at their lower ends by a bottom plate 38. End plates 40 and 42 cover each end of the discharge control door and are secured to the discharge plates and arcuate surface. Each end plate extends beyond its intersection with each of the discharge plates to form a chute which channels the material being discharged.

The discharge control door 30 has a shaft 44 extending through and rigidly secured thereto, the shaft supported for rotation by the respective supports 28 which extend from each discharge opening. The axis of shaft 44 is coincident with pivot 32. When mounted on a railway car the pivot point for each of the discharge control doors is preferably directly above its associated rail 16 and in the same vertical plane. The discharge doors are mounted so that they will normally remain in closed position. With reference to FIG. 4 a counterweight 46, r

such as concrete or lead, is placed in the lower end of each door to counterweight the door and assure that it will normally remain in the closed position in the absence of any countervailing force.

, Attached to each of the discharge control doors are actuating means permitting rotation clockwise or counter-clockwise to the open position to discharge material out either side, depending on the direction of rotation. The actuating means is illustrated by FIG. 3 and includes a plate 48 rigidly secured to shaft 44. Plate 48 includes one or more integral fittings 50 having openings therein large enough to receive a length of pipe or rod for manually rotating the discharge control door. The plate also has opposed slots 49 cut therein to receive a latch 52 to lock the plate and discharge control door against rotation during transit of the car from one location to another. The latch is pivotally supported for rotation at its upper end from an extension 54 secured to and extending transversely from the support 28. The

lower end of the latch 52 fits into the slot 49 in plate 48 when the discharge control door is in closed posi-.

tion. A closed loop 56 is preferably provided on the latch as illustraded by FIG. 2 allowing easy unlocking of the discharge control door.

An adjustable friction brake 58 (illustrated in FIG. 5) is utilized to hold the discharge control door open to a predetermined set position. The braking force exerted by the friction brake against the end plate of the door is adjusted to equalize the forces tending to move the door back to its normally closed position, these forces including the weight of the door, the weight of the counterweight in the door and the weight of material flowing over the discharge plate. The friction brake includes a friction element 60, preferably of nylon, pressed against the end plate 42 of the discharge control door by spring 62. The spring extends through an opening 63 in support 28 and an opening in plate 64 welded over the opening in the support plate 28. An adjustment screw 66 extends through threaded elements 65 into contact with the spring. Adjustment of the screw exerts a greater or lesser amount of spring force against the friction element allowing adjustment of the pressure of the friction element against the end wall of the discharge control door so that the door, when moved to the open position to discharge material, will remain in the open position until a force extended on the plate 48 by a rod inserted in fittings 50.

The gap between the terminating edges of the slope sheets 24 and the top surface of the arcuate member 34 is made adjustable for different materials being discharged. Adjustment of the gap between the lower terminating edges of the slope sheets and the top surface of the arcuate member is assured by providing adjustable elements 68 secured by a bolt and nut to each of the edges of the slope sheets of the hopper as illustrated in FIG. 4. Each of the elements has a slot therein allowing adjustment of the gap between the edge 70 of the element and the top of the arcuate surface 34.

A discharge control door of the type described 32 inches long, when rotated 36 from its normal vertical position leaving an opening of inches between the edge of the arcuate member 34 and the edge of element 69 and an opening of 7 inches between the edge of element 68 and the discharge plate, had a flow rate, based on optimum average material and conditions, of 295 tons per hour maximum. Larger doors up to 60 inches in length are capable of delivering 920 tons per hour maximum of particulate material.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In a discharge control door covering a discharge opening wherein the discharge control door is supported for rotation about a pivotal axis parallel to and beneath the discharge opening to cover the discharge opening, the discharge control door including: (1) an arcuate member extending parallel to and covering the discharge opening when the door is in the closed position and rotatable about the pivotal axis to uncover the discharge opening an amount depending upon the de gree of rotation thereof, (2) a pair of opposed dis charge plates secured at one end to and extending downwardly from the arcuate member to direct material being discharged through the discharge opening (3) means to rotate the discharge control door about its pivotal axis, and (4) friction brake means acting against the discharge control door to apply a force sufficient to equalize the rotative force on the door exerted by the weight of material being discharged and the weight of the discharge door tending to return the discharge door to the closed position, the brake maintaining the door in the open position until the equalizing force is overcome, the improvements comprising: providing adjustable elements along the entire length of the terminating edges of the discharge opening for ad justment of the clearance between the arcuate member and the edges of the discharge opening, providing a friction brake including an adjustable spring biased friction element bearing against the discharge control door, and securing a counterweight in the lower portion of the door beneath the pivotal axis thereof.

2. The control member of claim 1 wherein the opposed discharge plates of the discharge control door are curved inwardly relative to one another beginning at their connection to the arcuate member and then curved outwardly relative to one another to allow better flow of material and a wider opening between the edges of the discharge opening and discharge plate for discharge of material therethrough when in the open position.

3. The discharge control door of claim 1 wherein the counterweight is concrete.

4. The discharge control door of claim 1 wherein the friction element is a nylon friction element.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,822,650 Dated July 9 1974 Inventor(s) Joseph G. Fearon It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Change "CANS" in the title of the patent to read CAR S Signed and sealed this 10th day of- December 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

McCOY M. GIBSON JR. c. MARSHALL DANN Attesti ng Officer Commissioner of Patents FORM PO-lOSO (1069) USCOMMDC wan-Pea U.5. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1 |.I S-3l" 

1. In a discharge control door covering a discharge opening wherein the discharge control door is supported for rotation about a pivotal axis parallel to and beneath the discharge opening to cover the discharge opening, the discharge control door including: (1) an arcuate member extending parallel to and covering the discharge opening when the door is in the closed position and rotatable about the pivotal axis to uncover the discharge opening an amount depending upon the degree of rotation thereof, (2) a pair of opposed discharge plates secured at one end to and extending downwardly from the arcuate member to direct material being discharged through the discharge opening (3) means to rotate the discharge control door about its pivotal axis, and (4) friction brake means acting against the discharge control door to apply a force sufficient to equalize the rotative force on the door exerted by the weight of material being discharged and the weight of the discharge door tending to return the discharge door to the closed position, the brake maintaining the door in the open position until the equalizing force is overcome, the improvements comprising: providing adjustable elements along the entire length of the terminating edges of the discharge opening for adjustment of the clearance between the arcuate member and the edges of the discharge opening, providing a friction brake including an adjustable spring biased friction element bearing against the discharge control door, and securing a counterweight in the lower portion of the door beneath the pivotal axis thereof.
 2. The control member of claim 1 wherein the opposed discharge plates of the discharge control door are curved inwardly relative to one another beginning at their connection to the arcuate member and then curved outwardly relative to one another to allow better flow of material and a wider opening between the edges of the discharge opening and discharge plate for discharge of materiaL therethrough when in the open position.
 3. The discharge control door of claim 1 wherein the counterweight is concrete.
 4. The discharge control door of claim 1 wherein the friction element is a nylon friction element. 